In the News: More Spills, Heavy Rains, Fracking Waste Ban Defeated, & More

The Hudson has been a conduit for petroleum products for decades. What is new is the sheer volume, millions of gallons, of oil now traveling by ship, barge and by rail on the river’s west bank. And that increased volume has led to more accidents. [Capital New York]

Yesterday’s (4/30) rainfall of 4.97” at Central Park is the 10th highest daily total ever recorded there. (Record: 8.28” from 9/23/1882). That’s more rain in a single calendar day than fell in either Hurricane Irene or Sandy (though Irene’s landfall produced about 2 inches more than this past Tuesday/Wednesday over its two-day landfall). [Slate]

The Community Risk and Resiliency Act (A.6558 / S.6617) would require consideration of the effects of climate change and extreme weather events before issuing state permits and allocating infrastructure funds. [NYLCV]

The changing spring is one of the most striking impacts attributed to global warming. But in both hopeful and troubling ways, new studies are showing that warming’s effects are broader, affecting plants from spring to fall. [New York Times]

The federal government will build its first gasoline storage reserves in the New York Harbor area and in New England in response to the shortages suffered after Hurricane Sandy, the secretary of energy, Ernest J. Moniz, is to announce on Friday. [New York Times]

A state Senate committee killed a bill banning the import of hydrofracking waste into New York Tuesday, with the sponsor blaming Senate Republicans for blocking it as a favor to the oil and gas industry. [Saratogian]

The advocacy group Alliance for a Just Rebuilding predicts thousands of homeowners could go without needed aid if the city is shut out of further rebuilding cash in a report to be released Monday. [Daily News]

The $1 million plan includes new farmer innovation grants: “NY Beginning Farmer Fund” grants of up to $50,000 each to help start or expand an agriculture business; $100,000 for student loan forgiveness for agriculture college graduates who commit to farming careers; increased funding for the in-school, agriculture leadership-focused FFA (formerly known as “Future Farmers of America”) program; and reforms to the estate tax, to make it easier for families to pass on their farm business to the next generation.[Victor Post]